5 Artists will be showing their art works in their home studios and 32 in Toronto Botanical Garden (Edwards Gardens) located at 777 Lawrence Ave. east. Among these 5 artists at their home studios is my dear friend Nahid Marandi who’s studio is located @ 65 Banbury Rd. (home studio C on the map below).

That is why it’s called ‘Tour’ since you can take a tour in North York from Lawrence Ave. to Finch Ave. and Yonge Street to Don Mills Road.

From paintings (oil, acrylic, mixed media, watercolor, encaustic & resin) to photography, fused glass and pottery will be on sale. Don’t miss it If you are in town trust me, it will be colourful

I worked with Parvaneh Etemadi, a famous contemporary Iranian artist, over a six months period, in 1992-3. She is one of the greatest teacher that I ever had. I learned a lot from her. Her artworks are fascinating by its serene beauty that is mesmerizing. Pomegranate, lace and termeh, three elements of ancient persian, are largely used in her harmonious paintings with pencils.

You can see some influences of her brilliant artworks in my “Pomegranate” painting. I used soft pastel on a French Canson paper.

Several years ago, in 2002-03, my friend and I had decided to start painting together on the weekends, since we both worked during the week. For me, it was after a few years of pause that I restarted painting.

I remember it was autumn. The Fall in Toronto is one of the most beautiful seasons of all. It makes you fall in love with the nature & Toronto all over again. The vibrant colors, around the city, gives you energy and makes you “dream-walk.”

It was at that time that I wanted to try a new medium. So I started with the oil painting but soon switched to acrylic because I didn’t have the patience of the drying time. It was also in this year that my friend suggested to use my imagination instead of drawing objects. I wanted to give it a try, so there I was, experimenting a new medium with new style! Of course I had to ruin a few canvases first, but here are some of my artworks from that time.

I envision freedom as a state in which the man and the woman are utterly equal. I drew two people with no barriers, no external boundaries and challenges. The figures are deeply connected with no obstacles between them. Together they are freed from a past full of pain. They are free and in peace. They are the “Adam and Eve” of the twenty-first century, together experiencing the New Earth.

My grand mother from my mother’s side had passed away a few days after I was born, and my grand father a few months after her. From my father’s side they were deceased before I was even born. Not only have I never seen them, but I never felt and enjoyed the relationship with them like most people.

It was sad not knowing them at all and wondering how it could’ve been. But I had to accept the fact, and cherish the stories told by my mom.

Then, I met my husband’s grand mother. A woman full of life, energy and love who was a leader in her time, which was not so common then.

She was fun to be around and I would laugh with her. When I was sitting with her to chat she would take my hand into hers firmly. It felt like she loved me so much that she didn’t want to let me go. She showed her love by squeezing my hands and whispering in my ears: “ whoever loves my children I love them even more.” What was deeply touching for me was that I could feel it and knew it was true. She really loved me!

It was then that I felt so cared for and privileged. I felt that feeling of the unique love between grand parent and grand child that I never had experienced before.

In all the few years I had known her she never once did or said anything that could bring me down. She paid attention to all her children and grand children with love. She was fun to be around and she gave me the experience of having a grand mother not by blood but by love.

For me, communication is one of the most important aspect of life. Without it, we won’t be able to move forward, can’t share or be involved, can’t love and be loved, therefore we can’t grow in life.

There are different ways of communication. Some people talk, some write, some listen, some act and some create … in silence …

What you see in a piece of art is not just colors, pigments, canvas, design and shapes. These are just materials that an artist communicates love, hate, fear, happiness, sadness, emotions, and feelings with its viewer.

Empties - Soft Pastel - 1997

When a piece of art connects with you, it’s when you translate it into your thoughts. This brings out what you are, how you feel and how you connect with people. This is when you love an artwork so much that you want to have it in your home to not only give you everyday inspiration but also to take you with people around you to another level of communication.

An empty room without artwork in my opinion shows the lack of communication within yourself and therefore with others. It shows a sort of emptiness and absence.

For me, communicating through artwork is easier than using words. It seams that my thoughts are not coming out right when I put them in words. I think of one thing and it comes out of my mouth completely something different. That is why I try to communicate through my paintings. This is my way of communication.

“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul” - George Bernard Shaw -

I discovered my passion for Art at the age of 10 while drawing in the classroom. From that moment, it has been my dream to become an artist. I wanted to continue my education in Art but, due to my family’s beliefs, becoming an artist was not an option for me.

In 1984, I moved to Paris in order to begin my post-secondary education in fashion and design. I graduated in 1987 from the “Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne”.

Upon my return to Tehran, I started my own fashion design house with several employees. At the same time as this, I continued to take different courses in drawing and painting. I took one of these courses with the famous Contemporary Artist Parvaneh Etemadi.

In 1996 my husband and I immigrated, with our baby daughter, to Canada. I learned English, my third language, and continued my education in New Media and became a Multimedia and Web Designer.

This did not stop me, however, from continuing to pursue my first passion – painting. Although I worked full time as a Web Designer/Developer, my love affair with painting remained one of the most important things in my life. I continued to paint, on and off, and experimented with different mediums and styles.

In September of 2011, I made the biggest decision of my life and quit my job in order to be a full-time artist.

I love to learn and express myself through new mediums. I would also like to perfect and excel in the mediums with which I am already familiar.